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Talia al Ghul (New Earth)
Origin In her youth, Talia traveled the world with her father learning from his intellect and skills, and she proved to be more competent than any of Ghul's other children. She excelled in managing his criminal and legitimate operations, and she was eventually appointed as Ghul's primary secondary, despite the fact that Ghul considers women to be inherently inferior to men. Ghul is supportive of his daughter, though he has commented that, if possible, he would correct "that sole failing" in his child, suggesting that he fears any possible distortion of her through chemical or biological modifications that might result due to her as gender. Batman Talia first meets Batman when he rescues her from Dr. Darkk, the apparent leader of the League of Assassins. It is eventually revealed that the League is just one part of Ra's al Ghul's organization, The Demon, and that Darkk apparently turned against Ra's after failing in a mission (the usual punishment for this being death). At the end of the story, she shoots and kills Darkk to save Batman's life. Dick Grayson (Robin) is kidnapped. Ra's al Ghul enters the Batcave, revealing to Batman that he knows Batman's secret identity and saying that Talia was also kidnapped along with Dick. Batman then goes with Ra's to search for Dick and Talia; in the end, it is revealed that Talia loves Batman and that the entire kidnapping is a setup designed by Ra's as a final test of Batman's suitability as an heir. Though Batman rejects Ra's offer, he returns Talia's feelings. In the years since Talia meets Batman, she is repeatedly torn between loyalty to her father and her love of Batman. However, she has proven an important "ally" in her way; most prominently, she encourages Batman to return to Gotham City when it is declared a "No Man's Land" following an earthquake, and he has lost his fighting spirit and belief that he could save Gotham. Red Hood After Jason Todd's death at the hands of the Joker, Batman brought his body back to Gotham and buried him with the rest of the Wayne Family. However, several weeks later, Superboy Prime resurrects Jason with a reality-altering punch. Although Jason is returned to life, his body and mind are still broken from the Joker's attack. Out of love for Batman and the desire of making Batman love her again, Talia takes Jason to her father and Jason spends months in the care of the League of Assassins. Although his body recuperates, Jason's mind is shattered. Seeing no other way to help him, Talia takes Jason to the Lazarus Pit and throws his body in while her father regenerates himself. Jason is fully revived in body and mind. Immediately afterward, to spare Jason her father's wrath, she aids in the boy's escape. Livid at the fact that Batman failed to avenge his (Jason's) death by killing the Joker and that Batman had done nothing more than imprison him again, Jason pursues his own brand of justice. In order to stall Jason from killing Batman, Talia agrees to finance Jason and aid him in his training, so that he may then become the second Red Hood Bane After Bane enters the League of Assassins, Talia's father, Ra's al Ghul, considers Bane a potential heir to his empire and wants his daughter to marry Bane. However, Talia rejects the international brute, regarding him as merely a cunning animal compared to the more cultured intelligence of his predecessor, and after Batman defeats Bane, Ra's agrees that Bane was unworthy of his "only" daughter. Lexcorp Talia, disillusioned with her father and his plans, leaves him to run LexCorp for Lex Luthor when Luthor becomes President of the United States. Although she seemingly supports Luthor, she secretly works to undermine him, anonymously leaking news of his underhanded dealings to Superman. When the time comes for Luthor's downfall, she sells all of LexCorp's assets to the Wayne Foundation, leaving Luthor penniless and his crimes exposed to all. Death and the Maidens During his travels in Russia in the 18th century, Ra's al Ghul met a woman with whom he had a daughter named Nyssa. Ra's abandons Nyssa at a crucial time: She is tortured, and her entire family is killed in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. Seeking vengeance, Nyssa plans to use her considerable wealth and resources to kill Ra's by befriending, kidnapping, and brainwashing Talia, turning her into a weapon to kill their father. To this end, she captured Talia and, using a Lazarus Pit, killed and resurrected her in rapid succession, leaving Talia virtually broken from the trauma of dying and resurrecting again and again in so short a time. Rendered apathetic by her time in the camp, unable to feel anything, Nyssa also plans to assassinate Superman with kryptonite bullets she stole from the Batcave, hoping that, by uniting the world in one moment of tragedy, she would manage to feel something once more. While Batman is successful in preventing the assassination of Superman, he is unable to stop Nyssa from killing Ra's. This, in turn, is actually part of a greater plan concocted by Ra's, who wanted to ensure that his daughters would accept their destinies as his heirs, and take up his genocidal campaign. Realizing and accepting this, Nyssa and Talia become the heads of The Demon, with Talia disavowing her love for Bruce Wayne as another result of her torture at Nyssa's hands. (Both sisters consider Batman to be their enemy.) Villains United Talia is revealed to be one of the core members of the third Secret Society of Super-Villains (along with Lex Luthor (secretly Alexander Luthor, Jr. in disguise, Black Adam, Doctor Psycho, Deathstroke, and Calculator). This is revealed to be part of one of Nyssa's plans to take over the planet and bring about world peace and equality. Nyssa explains why she and Talia are working with the villains of the Society to Batgirl (Cassandra Cain). Nyssa fails to recruit Batgirl to her new League of Assassins, and the Society fails to achieve its goals. One Year Later After Nyssa's apparent death at the hands of Cassandra Cain (who usurps control of The League of Assassins), Talia becomes the new Demon's Head. However, the League of Assassins has apparently splintered and Cassandra Cain has gained partial control. The child of Talia and Batman from Son of the Demon is reintroduced to continuity in the story "Batman & Son," written by Grant Morrison. However, in this version, Talia either did not abandon the child (called Damian) or retrieved him from his adoptive parents and let him be partially raised by The League of Assassins. Talia gives him back to Batman, as part of a grand scheme involving ninja man-bats and the kidnapping of the British Prime Minister's wife. Batman is unsure whether this is his son, but he attempts to deal with the spoiled, hot-tempered child anyway. Damian, effectively raised to be an assassin, kills a criminal and nearly kills Tim Drake, the newest Robin. Shortly afterwards, father, mother, and son confront each other on a ship which is destroyed by a torpedo. Talia and Damien survived the explosion, and Damien is injured severely and has undergone a transplant of all his major organs. Talia is prompted to read the history of Ra's al Ghul to her son, Damian, by a mysterious figure from Ra's past: the White Ghost. Unbeknownst to her, the White Ghost plans to use Damian as a vessel for Ra's return. However, mother and son manage to escape before the plan is completed. After the escape, Batman confronts the White Ghost; he fights Batman, but ends up falling into a Lazarus pit. Batman: Reborn Talia is placed on the new Society's inner circle by Libra. Despite Talia's interaction with the new Society she still behaves lovingly and almost devoted to Batman. Following the events of Final Crisis where her lover and father of her son, Bruce Wayne, "dies", Talia leaves her son Damian in the care of Dick Grayson who eventually becomes the new Batman. Dick appoints Damian as the new Robin whom Talia aids when he is severely injured, most recently replacing her son's entire spine. After Grayson frees Damian, Talia reveals to her son that she has begun cloning him after realizing that the Boy Wonder has completely sided with his father's circle during their confrontation. She is too much of a perfectionist to love her son after he has defied her in such a manner, and he is no longer welcome in the House of al Ghul. Batman Incorporated She is later revealed to be the mastermind behind the Leviathan, a shadowy organization formed to oppose Bruce's "Batman Incorporated" project. She places a bounty of $500,000,000 on Damian's head, and declares war on Batman. | Powers = * : Extended lifespan through the use of Lazarus Pits. | Abilities = * * * * * | Strength = | Weaknesses = | Equipment = | Transportation = | Weapons = | Notes = * The exact history of the New Earth Talia has not been revealed thus far. In several alternate reality versions, such as the graphic novel Batman: Birth of the Demon (1992), explain how Ra's al Ghul met her mother, who was of mixed Chinese and Arab descent, at the Woodstock Festival. Talia's mother later dies of a drug overdose. This version contrasts the early history listed in Batman: Son of the Demon (1987), which states that Talia's mother was named Melisande and was murdered by a former servant of Ra's, named Qayin. Both of these stories are told from the perspective of an adult, Ibn al Xu'ffasch, who does not exist in the DC Universe. | Trivia = * Ra's al Ghul successfully enlists Batman's aid in defeating a rogue assassin who had murdered his wife.Batman: Son of the Demon During this adventure, Batman marries Talia and she becomes pregnant. Batman is nearly killed protecting Talia from an attack by the assassin's agents. In the end, Talia concludes that she can never keep Batman, as he will be continuously be forced to defend her. She fakes a miscarriage, and the marriage is dissolved. * Talia al Ghul is also known as the Daughter of the Demon. | Recommended = | Wikipedia = Talia al Ghul | Links = }} Category:Secret Society of Super-Villains III members Category:Bruce Wayne's Love Interests Category:LexCorp members